A Philadelphia man who claims he suffered a seizure early last year after a pharmacist at
a city Rite Aid store filled his prescription with the wrong medication has filed a civil complaint against the business in state court.
Attorneys with Philadelphia-based Villari, Lentz & Lynam filed suit Oct. 14 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Michael Kelly and his wife, Roe.
The defendants named in the lawsuit are Rite Aid Corp. and the Rite Aid Pharmacy located at 6363 Frankford Avenue.
The complaint states that Michael Kelly went to the Rite Aid location back on Jan. 31, 2011, to pick up a prescription for extended release Pentoxofylline that had been called in by the plaintiff’s podiatrist.
The prescription, however, had been filled “negligently, carelessly and incorrectly” with 180, 200 mg pills of Carbamazepine, the lawsuit alleges.
Kelly ended up ingesting about 18 of the pills between February 1 and 3 of that year.
On Feb. 3, after returning home from dropping his wife off at work, Kelly, after getting out of his car, began experiencing triple vision, dizziness and slurred speech before falling to the ground, attempting to crawl into his house and suffering a seizure, the lawsuit states.
Kelly was found by a neighbor and treated by emergency responders.
Kelly ended up suffering serious and permanent injuries including loss of balance requiring the use of a cane, slurred speech, memory problems and permanent neurological problems, the suit claims.
The complaint alleges that at no point in time did anyone representing the defendants warn Kelly that his prescription was filled incorrectly.
The defendants in the lawsuit are accused of negligence.
Kelly claims he incurred medical expenses as a result of his ingestion of the wrong pills. He also claims he has suffered severe physical pain, mental anguish and humiliation, and permanent mental scarring.
Kelly demands damages in excess of $50,000, together with interest, delay damages and other equitable relief.
His wife seeks $50,000 in damages for loss of consortium.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
The case ID number is 121001754.
Man who suffered seizure sues Rite Aid for filling prescription with wrong medication
